What I’m impressed with here is the level of transparency and the fact that you can tell this infrastructure moved as his needs changed. Systems don’t stay the same forever, but I am amazed how much his space mirrors his needs. When I look at my workspace, it’s chaos in comparison. It’s definitely worth thinking of what’s needed as part of any infrastructure and how to improve it, and I’m addicted to posts like these!

When I read Josh Thompson’s recent post about Slack messages, it resonated with me a big deal. Basically, it described a thing that happens to me a lot. Slack is a great chat app, but it makes some people chat the same way we would do in real life. While chat can most definitely be asynchronous, some people’s use of the software forces you to be immediate and distract you from the your own needs and focus.

I see it a lot, with people who start a chat just by saying ‘Hi’, with no further context – requiring you to spend the time and effort in order to figure out somebody’s needs or questions. It gets worse when the same real-life conversational cues are placed in the way before their question.

Them (1pm): Hey

Me (1:05pm): Hey

Them (1:10pm): How are you? 🙂

Me (1:15pm). I’m fine thanks, how are you?

Them (1:20pm): I’m good thanks.

Me: …

Them (1:30pm): Can I ask you a question?

Me: …

I’m more than happy to be conversational when we’re catching up but it’s frustrating when all you’re really asking is a question you need to do you work. Josh makes this clear: write whole messages that explain what you need and when you need a response.

I was really impressed with Remy Sharp’s list of packages he uses on a daily basis to improve CLI usage. As somebody who’s in the command line every day, it’s great to find alternatives to some often used programs to make things just a little easier!

We had to say goodbye to Luna. After over a month of trying to resolve conflicts, interactions were not improving despite everything we tried. She had a jealous streak – any time we’d try and be affectionate to Ollie would lead to an attack. Ollie’s behavior changed from being very sociable and outgoing, to timid and scared. It was clear neither were adapting well and Luna needed a hope where she was the only cat.

We originally adopted Luna so Ollie would have a friend as he’s super sociable when he’s in the cattery, and weren’t willing to give up from this experience. So, a few weeks ago we welcomed Astrid into our lives!

She is a bundle of joy and has enough playful energy to power the whole country. We’re loving having her, and she’s getting on very well with Ollie! There’s still some tensions as they get to know each other but it’s clear that this time all’s going to work out; Astrid just needs to figure out it’s a bad idea to try and play with a sleeping cat!

Exciting weekend! Michelle and I have been browsing the SSPCA website for a couple of weeks looking for a friend for our cat Ollie, and found one we fell in love instantly with. A short drive later, we were in Hamilton and arranged to pick up Luna!

We’d heard that she’s been a little closed off when she first arrived at the shelter but opened up by the time we’d gone to see her. She was affectionate and wouldn’t let me put her down! Her hair was matted when she came to them, so she’s looking cool with a buzz cut!

It’s not been entirely easy once she got home. She’s been scared of her new surroundings so we’ve been keeping her in an enclosed space she can call her own, slowly introducing her to the smells of Ollie. She’s still quite defensive, but does like a little pet from time to time!

Hopefully we’ll be able to open the door in a few days and let her see Ollie (who’s really excited to meet her), and let her roam the house with a bit more freedom!

A promising new year has gotten even more amazing. From today, I take my new role as Head of Technologyat mtc. This new role comes with a load of new responsibilities and challenges, which makes me even more enthusiastic to jump in with both feet!

Alongside planning for our wedding next year, Michelle’s placement and projects across Scotland, it’s becoming a defining year for the both of us. It’s definitely exciting, but will be a challenge.

Time, poorly managed, is wasted: we need to ensure we’re making the best out of each moment from now on out. ??